, and which he so
exhibited in after life. His probity, courage, ability and high sense of
justice were probably evident, even then, for there is every reason to
believe their foundations were laid very early. The boys would,
therefore, respect him, and choose him for an umpire in their little
troubles, as they are said to have done.... He was famous for hindering
quarrels, and perhaps his early taste for military manoeuvers was only
an accidental form of that love of mathematical combinations (the marked
trait of Napoleon's earlier years) and the tendency to order, promptness
and thoroughness, which characterized him so strikingly in after life.
The good soldier is by no means a man with a special disposition to
fight."

George was such an example of order, neatness, thorough scholarship and
exact behavior in Mr. Williams' school that we shall devote the next
chapter to these qualities.

IV.

METHOD AND THOROUGHNESS.

"These are finely done," remarked Lawrence Washington to George, after
an examination of the maps, copy-books, and writing-books, which George
brought with him from Mr. Williams' school. "It would be difficult for
any one to excel them."

"It takes considerable time to do them," remarked George.

"It takes time to do anything _well_," responded Lawrence, "but the
habit is worth everything to you."

"That is what Mr. Williams says," answered George. "He talks to the boys
often about doing things well."

"And no matter what it is that a boy is doing, if it is nothing more
than chopping wood, it pays to do it as well as he can," added Lawrence.
"Mr. Williams is an excellent teacher."

"I think so," responded George. "He makes everything so plain that we
can understand him; and he makes us feel that we shall need all we learn
most when we become men."

"Well, if you learn that last lesson thoroughly it will be of great
service to you every day," remarked Lawrence. "Many boys never stop to
think that they will soon be men, and so they are not fitted for the
duties of manhood when it comes."

"Mr. Williams talks much about method in study and work," continued
George. "He says that many persons accomplish little or nothing in life
because they are neither systematic nor thorough in what they do. 'A
place for everything and everything in its place,' is one of his
frequent remarks."

"And you must have produced these maps and copy-books under that rule,"
suggested Lawrence. "They are as ex